Athletes in many sports, including, for example, football, soccer, and lacrosse, use cleated footwear. Conventional cleated athletic footwear includes two primary elements, an upper and a sole. The upper is often formed of leather, synthetic materials, or a combination thereof, and comfortably secures the footwear to the foot, while providing ventilation and protection from the elements. The sole forms the ground-contacting element of footwear and is usually fashioned from a durable, wear resistant material that includes a plurality of cleats. The cleats extend from a lower surface of the sole and serve to engage the ground, thereby increasing traction for the user. Often times, the cleats are formed of one-piece construction with the sole. Alternatively, the cleats are removably secured to the sole, such as by a threaded member extending from the cleat that is received by a threaded member in the sole. In either case, the cleat is fixed with respect to the rest of the shoe when in use.
When a user running with cleated footwear turns or cuts, their leg is angled medially (referred to as inversion) or laterally (referred to as eversion) with respect to the ground. When cutting or turning, the user's cleats on both the lateral and medial side of known cleated footwear may remain engaged with the ground. In such a case, the sole and upper remain aligned with the cleats, while the user's leg is angled with respect to the sole, upper and cleats. This divergence between the footwear and the user's leg can result in injury, such as ankle and knee injuries. In cases where the user turns or cuts and both cleats do not remain engaged with the ground, the cleats on the side to which the leg is angled are engaged with the ground to a greater extent than the cleats on the opposite side. This results in decreased traction for the user. It would be desirable to provide cleated footwear that reduces the chance of injury to a user, and provides more even traction for cleats on both the lateral and medial sides of the footwear when the user's leg is angled to either side.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sole structure for an article of footwear with a pivoted cleat assembly that reduces or overcomes some or all of the difficulties inherent in prior known devices. Particular objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, that is, those who are knowledgeable or experienced in this field of technology, in view of the following disclosure of the invention and detailed description of certain preferred embodiments.